Starlight
by Artemis Nox
Summary: Was it all just a mistake? Should she really have decided to trust him, or was Naruto right all along? What will happen now that she has been lead into the woods all alone?


"But he's evil, I tell you. Evil! " Naruto screeched.

"You can't prove that," Tenten scoffed.

"Then how come he killed Gaara? You remember that? Do you?"

Tenten was at lost for words. She knew it was going to happen, yet she still was not prepared. _Why'd he have to go and pull the Gaara card?_ she thought to herself. Since they had been arguing for the past half hour or so, Naruto must have missed _Teletubbies_. That explains his foul mood.

"Yeah, I remember that. But he didn't necessarily _kill_ Gaara. Gaara just _happened_ to die when Shukaku was extracted from him."

"But didn't he _know_ Gaara would die when Shukaku was extracted?"

"Well, yeah but—"

"But nothing."

"Oh Naruto, you're so narrow-minded," Tenten said, exasperated.

"And you're being ignorant. Stop skirting the facts! The guy is bad news!"

"So what are you saying?"

"Stay away from him!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you are _not_ my father. I'm sorry I came to you anyway."

"Tenten, listen. You're a good friend of mine, and I'm just trying to protect you."

"Well if I disappear you know where to start looking."

"Alright, be that way." And that was when the "good friends" departed from one another. Naruto to go see what was left of _Teletubbies_, Tenten to get ready for her date.

* * *

After years of chasing Neji, it was a big surprise to most when Tenten agreed to go out with Deidara. Even bigger than the one everyone got when it was revealed that Neji and Temari had been going steady for quite some time. Even now, as she stood in front of the mirror, Tenten herself could not believe she had said yes. Her stomach felt queasy and her mouth was unbelievably dry. _It's okay to be a bit nervous,_ she tried to convince herself.

In order to calm her nerves, she switched on the radio that was hidden within her chiffonier. She sighed contentedly when the sound of D-tecnoLife by UVERworld filled her ears.

_Nanige nai yasashisa wo motome_

_Do you remember_

_Itami wo shiru koto de_

_Hito ni yasashiku nareru kara_

_Drive your life_

_Ienai itami kanashimi de_

_Kizu tsuita kimi_

_Mou warae nai nante_

_Hito kirai nante kotoba sou iwa nai de_

_Mie nai mirai ni okoru koto_

_Subete ni imi ga aru kara_

_Ima wa sono mama de ii_

_Kitto kidukeru toki ga kuru darou *_

After taking a long shower, Tenten stood once again in front of her mirror. She wondered vaguely what was it that Deidara saw in her that Neji had not.

_Get a grip, woman._ Tenten scolded herself as she shook her head. _Just be glad that someone sees something. Now you know that you're not completely repulsive,_ she thought. As she began to comb through her wet hair, she pondered briefly if she should dress up or not. Eventually, she decided against it, and dressed casually.

After winning the battle of towel trying her hair, she pinned it up into her usual panda-style buns. Tenten sighed as she stole one last glance into the mirror. _Why do I feel as if I might vomit?_

* * *

Tenten stood there, waiting patiently, at the designated rendezvous spot. She arrived five minutes ago, a tad early, and ever since then her mind has been racing. _Will he like me? Will he want to see me again? Should I have listened to Naruto? Is it too late to—_

Her thoughts were interrupted as Deidara walked up beside her. "Are you ready to go?" he asked with a slightly bashful grin on his face.

_Why is he smiling so much?_ "Um…yeah. I'm ready." Deidara's grin widened pleasantly and he linked his arm in hers. Tenten, taken aback by his abruptness, let herself be whisked away. She did not know whether to be curious or petrified when she realized that he was leading her away from the main village and towards the woods. "Uh…um…wh-wh," she stuttered. "Where are w-we going?"

Deidara chuckled lightly. "It's a surprise. You'll have to wait and see." _That does nothing for my nerves,_ Tenten thought to herself bitterly. Deeper and deeper and deeper into the woods they went, plummeting into the ever darkening forest. The sun setting behind the hills put on quite a show. Hues of orange, pink, purple, and red danced across the sky. But Tenten concentrate on its beauty. Fretting for the life she only _thought_ was in danger, she did not notice the fading spectacle. When the sky was completely dark, Deidara and his date reached a clearing in the woods. "Sit here." He pushed her down onto a rock. "Now look up at the sky." Utterly confused, she just stared at him. "Be a good girl and just look up."

"Are you serious?"

"Look at the sky, that's all you have to do."

"Look at the sky?"

"Over the trees."

"Over the trees?"

"Now."

Tenten, finally deciding to trust him, looked up at the sky. With her breath taken away, she gaped at the shimmering heavens above her. The sparkling, twinkling stars clustered together in constellations amazed her. She had never before taken notice of the gorgeous galaxies above her. Feeling a soft breath on the back of her neck, Tenten blushed as Deidara whispered into her ear, "I just thought I'd show you that there is actually something almost as beautiful as you." She opened her mouth to speak, but she could not find the words. Her blush deepened as Deidara silently took her hand in his. They sat there, hand in hand, staring up at the magical lights of the night.

* * *

*** English Translation:  
Long for casual gentleness.  
Do you remember?  
By leaning pain, you can become a person who can be kind to others.  
Drive your life...  
You've been hurt by an unspeakable pain and sadness;  
Don't say things like "I can't laugh" or "I hate people";  
There's meaning in everything that happen in the unseen future;  
So stay as you are for now, I know there'll come a time when you realize it.**

**Wasn't that cute? No? Cold-hearted people....  
**


End file.
